31 Tuesday Jul 2018
Posted in Ted Talk
Today’s Ted Talk is about changing the focus of our healthcare system. What do you think? Is this a viable solution or just one more way “big brother” gets to monitor us?
Until next time…
Dave
30 Monday Jul 2018
Posted in Motivation Monday
“There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.” – Aldous Huxley
Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/aldous_huxley_386738?src=t_motivational
Happy Monday!!
I hope everyone had a terrific weekend. It’s that time again—Motivation Monday!!! What do you control? What can you affect? You’ll find that the only thing you can control is you.
You can’t control your cube mate, you can’t control the other people on the road, you can’t control the attitude of the barista making your coffee. You can control your attitude. You can control what goes in your mouth and body. You can control your reaction to outside events and people. You can control what you read, what you listen to, and who you associate with.
Concentrate on the things you can control and your “circle of influence will increase”. Concentrate on the things you cannot control and your “circle of influence will decrease.” (Covey, 1989). Your circle of influence is composed of all the things you are in control of. Focus on your circle of influence and your life will turn around.
Some of you are working right now. Some of you are at home. Some of you are having a terrific day, while others dreaded going to work this morning. I’ve been there. I’ve also experienced the phenomenon that Covey (1999) addresses. I was more concerned about the things outside of me, rather than the ones inside.
It is so easy to play the victim. Why take personal responsibility when you can blame your parents, your siblings, your luck, or some other “outside” thing. Easy right? If there are all these outside things affecting my ability to perform it isn’t my fault. I am not responsible. Get it? This is why it is easy. This is why so many people fall into this trap. Taking responsibility is hard, but it is a necessary step to personal growth and effectiveness. The moment you own your life with all of its successes and failures will be the moment you begin to realize that you are in charge.
When you begin to realize that you have the power to change, the power to work on your weaknesses, the power to control your attitude and response to outside circumstances you will awaken to a new reality. A reality that you have complete control over. If there is something you do not like about yourself, read, study, learn how to make the change. There are articles, books, and YouTube videos that will show you how. You have all the power in the world to make the personal changes you want to make.
It’s up to you.
Until next time…
Dave
28 Saturday Jul 2018
Posted in Spiritual Saturday
Tags
Acceptance, Contentment, Grateful, Happy, Life, spirituality, Unhappy
“Even if you are living a nine-to-five life, you can make it an adventure. We owe it to ourselves to live life to its fullest in whatever we do. And the motivation to do this must come from within.”—Harold Klemp The Language of Soul
So many people take life for granted. Life is a special thing. It is a privilege to learn, to love, to experience. Even the hard times prove to be the best teachers.
In a previous post, I mentioned how I always felt like I was losing. It didn’t matter what I did or tried I would always end up with the “short end of the stick”. Then, I changed my mindset and things turned around. When I discovered that the new mindset brought out a part of me that I didn’t like, I decided to not fiddle around with this at all—to simply take life as it comes and just be happy with it all.
Happiness is really about attitude. Are you happy or are you unhappy? If you are happy, why? If you are unhappy, why? It is about creating happiness, regardless of the circumstances. Happiness shouldn’t come from outside. It should be internal. Depending on people, situations, or any outside influence to make you happy or sad will make for a tough time. Lose the dependence. Decide to be happy today.
Get out there and live your life. Don’t settle. Don’t use excuses. Get out there. The whole world is special because of you and your uniqueness. There are so many adventures and experiences waiting for you.
Embracing even the little things is such a treasure. For me, a little thing is a nice cup of coffee on my deck or listening to some good music while I read or working on a writing project. Sometimes I sit and just think. I ponder. I take the time to be quiet and just soak life in.
I enjoy life for what it is. I don’t need some outside thing to make me happy. Life just is and it’s wonderful.
Until next time…
Dave
27 Friday Jul 2018
Posted in Funny Friday
Tags
“If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn’t sit for a month.” – Theodore Roosevelt
Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/theodore_roosevelt_120663?src=t_funny
Enjoy your weekend!!!
Until next time…
Dave
26 Thursday Jul 2018
Posted in Thinking Thursdays
I am making great progress on my book projects. The outline and topics are almost completed for my nonfiction book on technical recruiting and the story I am fleshing out for my fiction book is also coming along nicely.
This week I’m focusing on a book about the Thirty Years’ War. I have never really understood this conflict, so I wanted to learn more about it. The book is on my list below and is free on Amazon.
I’m headed off to the gym. Have a great Thursday everyone!
Books:
The Shariyat Ki Sugmad, Paul Twitchell
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe
The Spiritual Exercises of ECK, Harold Klemp
Kobo: A Story of the Russo-Japanese War, Herbert Strang
The Dual Between France and Germany, Charles Sumner – This was an interesting book. I thought it would be more specific to the war aspects but was more of a report by Charles Sumner to President Grant about the war and the recommendations he is making to him. I enjoyed the read.
The Thirty Years’ War 1618 – 1648, Samuel Rawson Gardner
Classes:
Mindshift: Break Through Obstacles to Learning and Discover Your Hidden Potential
Public Policy, Hillsdale College
Learning how to Learn, Coursera – Just finished this course. Wow! It was terrific learning about the brain, test-taking tips and tricks, and the best ways to learn new material. I highly recommend this one!
Mini-Habits Course, Udemy (putting this one on hold until August)
Documentaries:
None are on my hit list this week.
Movies:
None are on my hit list this week.
Fun:
The West Wing (Currently on Netflix)
Until next time…
Dave
25 Wednesday Jul 2018
Posted in Journaling Series, Wisdom Wednesday
Tags
Benefits, C.S. Lewis, Daily reflection, Dreams, Exercise Journal, Gratitude, journaling, Nutrition Journal
“But what am I to do? I must have some drug, and reading isn’t a strong enough drug now.” —C.S. Lewis, writing about journaling after his wife died in A Grief Observed
Dear reader,
I was looking through my blog this morning and discovered that I forgot to wrap up my Journaling series. If there was one piece of advice I could pass on to others, it would be this: Start journaling. Journaling allows us to communicate with ourselves. It allows us to air out our problems and be totally open without having to pretend or act a different way. You get to talk to yourself as yourself.
As I mentioned in my Journaling series, there are plenty of journals, even ones that I did not address. I only wanted to address the journaling that I do, not cover types of journals that I do not have experience with.
As promised, I also wanted to provide you with the ritual I associate with my personal journaling. My ritual for journaling involves two time periods. The morning is for my dream journal and gratitude journal. I enjoy recording my dreams. I have found that the more time I put into my dream journal the more memorable my dreams are. They are not like this all the time, but the detail and my recall have improved over time. My gratitude journal is used just for that—to record all the things I am grateful for.
I use the evening to reflect on my day. I call this my daily reflection. My daily reflection is more like a diary. I record the events of the day. I also have conversations with myself about things that are troubling me, things that I’m thinking about, and even the problems I’m trying to work through.
I also log my food into an app called My Fitness Pal and my exercises into another app called Body Space. The app I use for my gratitude, dream, and daily reflection journals is called Diaro (www.diaro.com).
Look around the web and for “benefits of journaling” and you’ll find an endless list of good things that come to those of us that journal. The benefits that I derive from journaling is the ability to get things out of my head. Sometimes when I’m writing in my journals I get impressions or ideas. These ideas help me solve a problem or provide an answer to a question. Sometimes these impressions point me in a direction to learn something or give me a nudge to act in some way.
One question I’ve wondered about. Should a journal be handwritten or typed? I’ve been torn between the two but settled on typed. I cannot read my own handwriting. This is the reason. I like to go back through my journaling and dreams and read them. It is amazing how much transpires in our lives that we forget about a few months later. It is also a great way to remember great things that happened during the day. I always discuss things that have happened as a sort of record of my life. I think it would be nice to pass down to my relatives once I’m gone.
A journal is your own biography. It tells a story about your feelings, your dreams, the people you’ve loved, your fears, and your happy times. It is your history.
Journaling has been one of the best decisions I have ever made and committed to. Honestly, there are some days I just don’t want to have anything to do with journaling and those days the entries are pretty short, but there are other days when I have a lot to talk about and fill a few pages.
In some respects, even this blog is a journal. The content I contribute to this community is from me. It is mine, but it is tempered. There are things I would never put on my blog. Those things are reserved for my journal.
I used C.S Lewis’ quote because he used his journal to get through the death of his wife. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone. A journal can be that “ear” when you need one. It can be a very healing process. I have used my journal during some tough times and it helps—it really does.
Well, this is the end of my journaling series. I hope you had a chance to read through my other entries. I also hope that this series influences you to begin your own journaling practice. You won’t be disappointed.
Until next time…
Dave
24 Tuesday Jul 2018
Posted in Ted Talk
Enjoy this terrific Ted Talk examining the question: What makes the good life? Some of you may be surprised, while others may not be. I don’t want to spoil this for you-you’ll just have to watch.
Until next time…
Dave
23 Monday Jul 2018
Posted in Motivation Monday
Tags
journaling, Meditation, minimalism, Positivity, Reading, rituals, Writing
“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” – Charles R. Swindoll
Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/charles_r_swindoll_388332?src=t_motivational
As I prepare to attack the week ahead, I wanted to discuss how our attitude or reaction to our personal reality can affect our lives in good or bad ways. We can all recall good times and bad times in our lives, right? Who decides what is good or bad? We do.
If I were to take a survey of the people you work with, what would they say about their job? Odds are there will be some that love the job they do and the service they provide. Others will dread going to the job and if offered, leave at the earliest opportunity. The employee’s attitude colors their day. People that expect the bad will get exactly what they want. People that expect the goodwill also get exactly what they want. The trite expression about the glass-half-full or half-empty applies.
Each of us has a lens we use to observe our world. This lens is colored by our experiences, the good, the bad, the ugly, the beautiful. This lens can also be our paradigm. This is the internal map or neural pattern we use to identify common objects. It is also the map we use to assess our current situation.
Some, like the late Dr. Stephen Covey, believe we each have the power to alter or change our internal map. We can rewrite the script. Others believe that we can change our state of consciousness. The theory is if you can alter or rewrite your internal scripting you will naturally change your outlook.
I did this several years ago. My life was wrought with troubles. I was in a lot of debt, my marriage was failing, and I wasn’t performing that well at work. I started to think about why I always lost when others would win. I started to give credence to the statement that I could, in fact, rewrite my script.
I began journaling. I began dedicating time to meditation, exercise and eating right. I began to control what I let into my mind and what I protected my mind from. I began getting serious about my spirituality, reading my Bible (The Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad), doing my daily spiritual exercises, and studying all I could.
I came across books like “Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-free Productivity”, by David Allen, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, by Dr. Stephen Covey, and learning more about nutrition, mindfulness, and minimalism. I began reading lots of articles about habits that bring about happiness and well-being.
Slowly my mindset changed. I realized that the bulk of the things I was doing was for someone else. My goals were about what I was supposed to do rather than what I wanted to do. In other words, I found the “why” behind my goals. At that moment, I began to alter my thinking. I began to realize that I could win if I changed how I approached life.
I began to look at my habits. I began to look at what I did each day. I began to look at what I was bringing into my world. I used to like watching horror movies. I used to like listening to death metal. I used to like eating a lot of garbage. I also had a lot of negative thoughts going through my mind, filled with worry, anger, and paranoia. One of the key things that caused me to change some of my habits was Masaru Emoto (see http://www.masaru-emoto.net/english/water-crystal.html) who has done some wonderful experiments learning the effect different things have on the formation of water crystals. Visit this website to see what I saw. The learning: What you think, what you hear, what you read, what you see affects your internal structure (70% water). Change the inputs of ugly, vulgar, lust, etc. to good, peace, love, happiness, etc., and you can alter yourself dramatically.
Besides adapting new habits, I also created rituals that house these habits into chunks of activity. I wrote down all the things I learned that I wanted in my life. I wanted to read daily, exercise daily, eat well daily, write daily, and learn new things daily. I also wanted to bring beauty, peace, and tranquility in my life. So, I began simply. I read a page a day, I did one push-up a day, I ate one healthy meal a day, I wrote a few sentences each day, and I try to read an article, watch an educational documentary, or read a blog posting.
I take life one day at a time. I focus on what I’m doing and do not allow myself to be distracted by the “noise” that tries to envelop each of us. I remain focused on my goals and do my best to edge ever closer to the finish line.
My attitude: Life is good, it will continue to get better. I will improve a little bit each day in all areas of my life. I will continue to evolve, learn, and grow.
I extend my well-wishes to each of you on your own personal journeys to greater understanding and happiness.
Until next time…
Dave
21 Saturday Jul 2018
Posted in Spiritual Saturday
“I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.” – Thomas Jefferson
Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/thomas_jefferson_389008?src=t_religion
This quote is such a refreshing one when I consider the level of animosity and divisiveness present in America today. I used to be interested in politics, but within today’s environment, it is impossible to watch the immature arguments that frequent our airwaves, social media, and all the rest.
Tolerance is the key word here.
We are all unique. We also have our opinions about things. True friendship is about understanding another person’s view and remaining friends regardless of their opinions.
I purposely read articles with opinions different from mine. I do this because I want to keep an open mind. I want to understand why people feel differently about an issue than I do. This has provided a real opportunity to reconsider my positions and maybe, just maybe, change them, if an article’s arguments are strong enough.
I was sucked into the political debate over and over throughout my life and still, at times, have a real difficulty not getting ticked off when someone comes to the table with a position that I am opposed to. Over time, I began to realize how idiotic this way of living is.
Once I began reading articles highlighting opinions that were opposite of mine I began opening my mind to these opinions and reading them. Some of them fail to convince me of anything. Some, however, get through. This is when something interesting occurs. I begin to see the other side of an issue and begin to realize that my position may have been wrong. Many times, I end up in the middle of an issue, taking the pieces of arguments from both sides and keeping the ones that I believe make the most sense.
I think back to the time of our nation’s founding and wonder how difficult the arguments must have been during Jefferson’s time. If he could argue these points with colleagues and remain friends, so could I. I have found over time that my learning has increased exponentially.
Open your mind to other people’s ideas and opinions. All you have to lose is the time you take to hear out someone’s point of view. If they don’t convince you, so be it. If they do, you have a better grasp of an issue and many times will arrive upon a solution that was much better than your one-sided view and the view of your colleague. The interaction allows you to see alternative solutions that would have been impossible had you not allowed yourself to be exposed to another’s opinion.
Enjoy your Saturday, readers!
Until next time…
Dave
20 Friday Jul 2018
Posted in Funny Friday
Tags
“Weather forecast for tonight: dark.” – George Carlin
Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/george_carlin_108466?src=t_funny
Enjoy your Friday!
Until next time…
Dave
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